This is mostly a message to Larry, but it might also have some list relevance as well.
On Thu, 27 Feb 2003, LARRY KLAES wrote: > Of course Armageddon might resonate better with a public > that is not very discriminatory when it comes to science > accuracy in films - or bad acting and plotting: I haven't reviewed the URLs (but I'd likely assume the opinions are correct). I believe I've seen Deep Impact as well, but it doesn't make me cry. I can forgive a lot on that basis. (More importantly millions of others can when it comes down to making funding decisions.) > But I heartily agree with Robert about the need to preserve > humanity in some form beyond Earth. With the way we are > going now, who needs a giant space rock to destroy us. I think we are going to muddle through so we don't need to be quite so pessimistic. Giant space rocks are a significant risk (and as Gary points out some other natural hazards though those tend to be less global). *BUT* as the events of 911 showed we need to imagine the unimaginable. Only if we do that (and prepare for it) will we be able to survive. > Columbia tears apart in space, Pioneer 10 stops transmitting > to Earth, and now Mister Rogers dies. You tell me these > aren't the signs of something bad coming (said only half > facetiously). Columbia was an engineering problem. We have had those before and we will probably have them again. It is an expression of "humanity" that we can explore these problems, diagnose them and fix them. You neglected to mention the ending of the Galileo mission which was *very* successful in *spite* of the failed antenna deployment (yet another "engineering problem"). To put the Columbia problem in perspective -- On Feb. 1, we lost 7 very fine, smart, well trained individuals. But each and every day we lose more than 100,000 humans to hunger, disease and aging. Pioneer 10 most likely did not "stop transmitting". It seems more probable that its power levels are simply too low for our current dishes to receive. (Obviously we need to build bigger dishes). Mr. Rogers dug his own grave (so to speak). Cryonics may not work, but not-cryonics certainly doesn't (the information on the possible feasibility and technology are available for any who choose to explore it). Ted's children had the right approach -- "place a bet". Mr. Rogers didn't choose to (at least to my knowledge). So the reasons for pessimism are not so large as one might suspect. Robert == You are subscribed to the Europa Icepick mailing list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Project information and list (un)subscribe info: http://klx.com/europa/
